Chien-Ming Wang to train local pitchers at camp in Taipei

Chien-Ming Wang (王建民, right) and Randy Sullivan

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) Taiwanese pitcher Chien-Ming Wang (王建民) will open a five-day pitching camp in Taipei on Tuesday that he hopes will give local baseball players an extra edge.

Wang, who still resides in the United States, said at a press conference on Monday held to introduce the Elite Pitching Camp that he wanted to help local pitchers.

The planned camp will be hosted by a five-member group from the Florida Baseball Ranch (FBR), led by ranch owner Randy Sullivan, at the invitation of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan.

Before his return to the major league as a relief pitcher with the Kansas City Royals in 2016, Wang himself received training at FBR.

Recalling his motivation for re-learning how to pitch at the ranch, the 37-year-old Wang said he was never able to pitch as he did before he got injured in the late 2000s.

"I could no longer throw balls that would move just before reaching home plate," he said.

"It was like that for years. I just wasn't able to regain the form I had in my prime."

So he chose to attend the baseball school, and the training there helped him get back to the major leagues last year, said Wang, who has yet to be signed to a contract by a major league team for next year.

Wang will serve as an instructor at the FBR Elite Pitching Camp, which will be held at Tianmu Baseball Stadium on Nov. 28 and 29 and from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.

One of a handful of Taiwanese pitchers who have played in the major leagues in the U.S., Wang urged Taiwan's young players to watch and play in as many games as they can.

"No matter how big the game, you have to try to stay loose and let yourself go," Wang said.